Earning Marriott Bonvoy points starts with hotel stays. You’ll generally only earn bonus points when you book directly with Marriott. And although you can book rooms over the phone, the online website is super easy to use and will probably end up saving you time.
Earning Points on Stays
Generally, regardless of which credit card you use to book your reservation, any stays booked directly with Marriott at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels are eligible to earn points in 2 ways: base points and elite bonus points.
Base Points: Earning points is separated into 3 categories by brand:
- Earn 10 points per $1 on most Marriott brands, which also includes Marriott Vacation Club properties
- Earn 5 points per $1 at Element, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites
- Earn 2.5 points per $1 at Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay
Elite Status Bonus: You will earn additional bonus points based on elite status — a 10%, 25%, 50%, or 75% bonus for Silver Elite, Gold Elite, Platinum Elite, or Titanium Elite members, respectively.
Also, all eligible hotel purchases, including dining, beverages, rounds of golf, and spa services will count towards these earnings.
Because booking directly through Marriott Bonvoy almost always results in the best rates and the best points accrual structure, it almost always makes sense to book your Marriott Bonvoy stays directly through Marriott Bonvoy.
Promotions: Marriott Bonvoy typically has a promotion every quarter for bonuses such as bonus points or free night certificates that reward frequent stays. Watch your email and make sure to register before your upcoming stays.
Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points and Status for Hosting Events
If you’re in need of a place to hold a meeting, look no further. Marriott offers meeting and event services that earn you points!
Earn a maximum of 60,000 points (2 points per $1) or 20,000 airline miles (1 mile per $1) for 1 qualifying event.
Elite members get a bonus when earning points, though not for earning miles:
Meetings or Events | General Member | Silver Elite | Gold Elite | Platinum Elite | Titanium Elite | Ambassador Elite |
Earn Rate | 2 points per $1 or 1 mile per $1 spent per qualifying event |
Bonus Points | None | 10% bonus | 25% bonus | 50% bonus | 75% bonus | 75% bonus |
Maximum Points Earning per Event | 60,000 | 66,000 | 75,000 | 90,000 | 105,000 | 105,000 |
Maximum Miles Earning per Event | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
You have the option of splitting the points with another member.
Hot Tip: For your first meeting each year you can earn 10 Elite Night Credits. Plus, for each additional meeting, you can earn 1 Elite Night Credit per 20 room nights, up to 20 Elite Night Credits per meeting.
Share Marriott Bonvoy Points
Family members can transfer points for free.
Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points With Credit Cards
To earn Marriott Bonvoy points through credit card spending, you’ll want to hold 1 of Marriott Bonvoy’s 6 co-branded credit cards. Chase and Amex both issue Marriott Bonvoy credit cards, which increases the number of options you have to earn points through credit cards.
The number of points you’ll earn is dependent on the type of Marriott Bonvoy credit card you have. You can earn anywhere from 1x points to 6x points through credit card spending, with an additional 15x points coming from a combination of bonuses acquired through credit card elite status and base points earned as a Marriott Bonvoy member.
In absolute terms, you can therefore earn up to 21x total Marriott Bonvoy points through credit card spending, depending on the card!
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card is the ultra-premium, flagship credit card available to Marriott loyalists. Currently, this credit card offers a terrific welcome offer, as well as the ability to earn up to 6x points:
- 6x points for eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
- 3x points at restaurants worldwide
- 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines
- 2x points on other purchases
This card confers complimentary Platinum Elite status, which earns you an additional 50% bonus points on Marriott Bonvoy hotel purchases — that elevates your points from 10x base points to 15x total points. Adding in the 6x points from your credit card, you can earn a total of 21x points on eligible Marriott Bonvoy stays.
With Platinum Elite status, you can get access to standard suite upgrades and complimentary breakfast!
Better yet, you will receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your card renewal month (up to 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points), as well as a Priority Pass Select membership upon enrollment, a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee credit, up to $100 Marriott Bonvoy property credit at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis, and up to $300 in dining credits every year (up to $25 per month) at restaurants worldwide.
Other benefits include no foreign transaction fees, and fee-free authorized users (rates and fees).
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card is one of the newest credit cards available; it’s focused on offering a mid-tier solution to earning lots of points on everyday purchases without an enormous price tag.
Right now, you can take advantage of the new cardmember welcome bonus, plus up to 6x points:
- 6x points for eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
- 4x points at U.S supermarkets and restaurants worldwide, including take-out and delivery in the U.S. (on the first $15,000 in combined purchases every year, then 2x points)
- 2x points on other purchases
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card confers automatic Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status, which gets you upgrades and a 25% bonus of points at Marriott Bonvoy hotels, which elevates your overall points earnings to 18.5x points on eligible Marriott Bonvoy stays.
Every year, you can get 1 Free Night Award (up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) after spending $15,000 per calendar year.
Also, you will get 1,000 bonus points per paid eligible stay at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties when booked direct.
You’ll enjoy 15 Elite Night Credits towards elite status, no foreign transaction fees, and authorized users for no additional annual fees (rates and fees).
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card
The Marriott Bountiful card, which is the first credit card option issued by Chase, earns a welcome bonus, as well as up to 18.5x total points at Marriott:
- 6x points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy (plus 10x base points and 2.5x elite bonus points for having Gold Elite status, a benefit of this card)
- 4x points on the first $15,000 in combined purchases each year on grocery stores and dining
- 2x points on other purchases
This credit card shares a lot of the same features as the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card, including:
- 1,000 bonus points per eligible stay at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
- 1 Free Night Award every calendar year after $15,000 in spending (up to 50,000 points)
- 15 Elite Night Credits per year
- Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
To top it all off, this credit card has baggage delay reimbursement, lost luggage reimbursement, trip delay reimbursement, purchase protection, no foreign transaction fees, and no additional annual fees for authorized users.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Another one of Chase’s co-branded credit cards is the Marriott Boundless card, a terrific choice if you’re looking for rewards but don’t care much about elite status perks.
This card has a limited-time welcome bonus and the ability to earn a maximum of 17x total points:
- 17x total points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy (6x points from the credit card, 10x base points for being a Marriott Bonvoy member, and 1x points with Silver Elite status, a benefit of this card)
- 3x points on the first $6,000 in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining
- 2x points on other purchases
Every cardmember anniversary year, you’ll get 1 Free Night Award, good for stays at a redemption level of up to 35,000 points.
You’ll also get 15 Elite Night Credits to qualify for elite status, the ability to earn 1 Elite Night Credit for every $5,000 spent, automatic Silver Elite Status, and travel insurance.
Plus, the Marriott Boundless card includes travel insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and authorized users for no additional fees.
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
The Marriott Bold card is the last personal credit card we’ll be discussing, and it’s the only card without an annual fee.
This product has a new cardmember welcome bonus and the ability to earn up to 14x points:
- 14x total points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy (3x points from the credit card, 10x base points for being a Marriott Bonvoy member, and 1x points with Silver Elite status, a benefit of this card)
- 2x points on travel
- 1x point on other purchases
Although you will not get a Free Night Award every year, you will get 15 Elite Night Credits, which qualifies you for complimentary Silver Elite Status.
You’ll also be able to utilize the basic travel insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and the ability to add authorized users for no additional annual fees.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
The only credit card available for new applications exclusively for business owners is the Marriott Bonvoy Business card, which currently has a solid welcome offer, as well as up to 6x earnings:
- 6x points on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program
- 4x points at restaurants worldwide
- 4x points at U.S. gas stations
- 4x points on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers
- 4x points on U.S. shipping purchases
- 2x points on other purchases
Also, you can get a 7% Marriott Bonvoy room rate discount off standard rates when you book direct.
Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status is included, as is:
- 1 Free Night Award every year (up to 35,000 points)
- Another Free Night Award every year after you spend $60,000 in a calendar year
- 15 Elite Night Credits
- Access to Marriott Bonvoy Air+Car
The Marriott Bonvoy Business card comes with no foreign transaction fees, and employee cards at no additional cost (rates and fees).
Hot Tip: Check out our guide to the best credit cards for Marriott Bonvoy loyalists!
Chase Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards
If you earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them to Marriott Bonvoy. However, even with a 1:1 transfer ratio, this is rarely a good use of Ultimate Rewards because of how many Marriott Bonvoy points award stays cost.
American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards
You can also transfer points earned from some of the best Amex credit cards into Marriott Bonvoy points at a 1:1 transfer rate. But as with Chase Ultimate Rewards points, this is hardly the best use of your Membership Rewards points.
Other Ways To Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points
Marriott Bonvoy has many travel and shopping partners. See our article on how to earn Marriott Bonvoy points for ideas.
Keep in mind: the trade-off to earning Marriott Bonvoy points is that you won’t be earning other hotel or airline points, which may be more valuable to you.